At about this time last year, Dane Miller was in the beginning stages of making his way across Canada.

Frustrated with school, the track and field team, and his personal life, he decided to drop out of Penn State to get away from everything and re-channel his energies, hitchhiking from Toronto to the Salt Spring Islands in British Columbia.

He traveled city to city, staying with random people that he met along the way. He experienced the frenzy of Canadian hockey fans when the Edmonton Oilers were in the Stanley Cup Finals. Along the way, he looked at potential graduate schools, still thinking about his future.

"I always wanted to travel throughout Canada because I always thought it was pretty cool," he said. "So I talked to my parents and my family and they thought it would be awesome."

After finding his focus, the fifth-year senior hopes to leave Penn State with a bang at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the shot put and discus in front of a home crowd May 11 to May 13. It is an opportunity he is grateful to have and part of a plan he had since he got on campus.

The year off turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Miller. He has returned to the Nittany Lions in top form. This year he had a new personal-best throw in the shot put to take sixth-place in the Big Ten Indoor Championships, and his grades have been just as good.

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When the thrower arrived on campus in the fall of 2002, he knew that the Big Ten Outdoor Championships would be held at Penn State in the spring of 2007. Miller wanted to redshirt during his junior indoor season and his senior outdoor season so he could be around for the outdoor championships as a fifth-year senior.

However, a lack of communication and poor planning forced Miller into using his redshirt for both seasons in 2006. Aggravated by the mistake and dealing with his own personal troubles, Miller decided to quit school for the spring semester.

"I had a lot of problems," he said. "I wasn't dealing with things in my life properly. I was drinking too much and smoking weed, just doing stupid stuff that I shouldn't have been doing. I left school just to deal with it.

"I hitchhiked across Canada, and it was a really good experience in itself."

Miller struggled with his decision to step away. He had grown to love the university that he had rooted against during his youth. Growing up in Reading where everyone was obsessed with Penn State, Miller never really wanted to be just another Nittany Lion fan.

Things changed when his older brother, Brooks, enrolled at University Park and convinced his brother to strongly consider Penn State during Miller's recruitment. Miller was eventually swayed to become a Lion by Penn State's facilities and the advice of Brooks and his parents, Dane and Chiyo.

So when it came time to decide if he should continue to enroll at Penn State last spring, Miller went to the same people that convinced him to go in the first place. He credits his family for helping him to get through his time away from school.

"I have a really, really, close family," Miller said. "My parents supported me and everything. That's why I'm excited. My parents are going to be out at Big Tens. Hopefully, it all pays off."

The year removed from Penn State gave Miller a new sense of purpose. He has rededicated himself in the classroom where he majors in religious studies and history. He cherishes the opportunity to be back in athletics and the chance to compete with his teammates once again.

Miller has enjoyed recalling his time away from school to them. His tales of traveling cold Canadian back roads with just a few personal possessions and no car have subsequently earned him the nickname the "Toothless Hitchhiker."

Fellow thrower Steve Meyers is one teammate who was glad to have Miller back. The two have competed against each other since high school, and together they have become two of the Lions' top throwers.

Through their five years of competition together, the two have become best of friends despite being very different personalities. Miller is known for his fiery antics during his throws, and Meyers is known for his more subdued attitude to throwing.

Despite their different approaches, the fifth-year seniors have been around each other more than enough to know what gets the other motivated for big throws.

"We complement each other well in the meets just because we are so different," Miller said. "We know each other so well that I know what makes him tick and he knows what makes me tick."

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As freshmen, Miller and Meyers barely knew each other on a personal level, but after spending hours with each other daily, their friendship began to take off. They now live together, but an obsession with Star Trek helped them to become better friends away from track.

"We literally watch like four hours of Star Trek a day," Miller said. "It's probably the most common thing that we have. The weight thrower Scott Vernon, who graduated last year and came in with us, too, is a big Star Trek fan. Now me, Scott and Steve will talk every night about Star Trek. It's pretty pathetic."

After becoming so tight, a huge void was left in Meyers's life when Miller decided to leave University Park last spring.

"It was like losing your brother," Meyers said. "It's a guy who you see everyday. He lived two houses down last year and then all of sudden he's not here anymore. It was like, 'What am I going to do? That's my training partner, that's the guy I practice with everyday and he's not here.' It was pretty rough."

Miller's other teammates are also relieved to have him back on the team. His absence left a huge vacancy in the throwing events, and his strong personality was also missed by teammates.

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Despite being back with the team, the start of Miller's 2007 indoor campaign was nothing like he had hoped. He failed to reach distances that he had in previous years, and his throws were shorter than expected, as he was in his first action since 2005.

"The first two or three meets I couldn't even control myself," he said. "I would be in the meet, and I would be like 'Wow, this is great.' I am just so happy I'm back competing."

Miller has since settled down from his early-season jitters. His best shot put throws came at the end of the indoor season including a 58-footer in the Big Ten Indoor Championships.

Thus far, his outdoor season has not gone quite as well as he would have liked. Despite coming close, Miller is still looking to hit regional qualifying marks in both the shot put and discus in the outdoor season. He is confident that his best throws are still to come.

"You don't realize it [Big Tens] is this close, and then you start talking about it and you can't help but have the hair on your neck stand up and you get really excited," Miller said. "I just want to go out and throw some big throws."

But, no matter what happens, Miller is just glad to have one last chance to compete in his final Big Ten championships in front of his friends, family and the Penn State faithful.

"After being away from competition for a year, it just feels great to be back throwing again," he said. "It is going to be very special for me when Big Tens roll around with my family and friends there and knowing where I came from last year."